1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to tips for canes and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to such tips which provide greater stability to the cane or the like.
2. State of the Art
Canes are often used by the elderly and other individuals who need support while walking or standing. However, the tip typically provided on a cane is not particularly stable and may not provide sufficient traction when walking on slippery surfaces. When an individual is not using his or her cane, the cane is typically oriented in a leaning position where the individual can reach it when so desired. However, leaning canes often fall over, creating great difficulty for the individual to reach and then pick up the cane for use.
Though not widely used, canes and aftermarket cane tips are known which provide additional cane stability or traction for certain uses. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,704 to Brown provides a cane for use on slippery and icy surfaces. The cane has a tip which has a convex arcuate lower surface, and one or more rows of spikes extending downward from the lower surface. The arcuate surface permits the cane to be rocked through a stride and the spikes provide gripping in any icy surface. However, a spiked cane is not ideal for everyday use. Furthermore, the arcuate surface does not provide the necessary stability that many elderly require when standing still or walking. In addition, the arcuate surface of the tip may make the cane prone to falling over from where the cane was placed for later retrieval.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,564 to Fetterman discloses a crutch tip having a tubular portion for receiving the end of a crutch, an absorption pad beneath the tubular portion, and a tread piece beneath the absorption pad. The tread piece includes depending portions for receiving and flexing about small obstacles (e.g., pebbles) on the ground while maintaining traction with the ground. The tip is constructed to be highly flexible (the upper portion of the tip may be bent at an angle of 50.degree. relative to the lower portion of the tread piece). While this flexibility may provide certain advantage with respect to traction of the of tip; i.e., the ability for the tip to remain gripped the ground even as the crutch is tilted, it will be appreciated that such a tip provides too much instability for a cane used by the elderly who require a stiffer, more stable tip having satisfactory traction.
A common solution for those who require a more stable cane is the use of a multipod cane. A multipod cane has a branched end provided with a plurality of cane tips, e.g., four tips. The multipod cane is self-standing and therefore alleviates the `falling cane` problem. However, the cane has a large footprint and may interfere with the stride of the individual using the cane, or worse, trip the individual. This problem is amplified when the bulky multipod cane is used on stairs. Moreover, the cane be quite unstable if all of the tips do not rest on a planar surface.